There’s a lot to say about the world these days, but few people are willing to see what’s right with it. Likewise, even fewer of those who do see what’s wrong are willing to do anything to change it.

We all say things need to be changed, but no one seems to be standing up. Those who are slightly inclined to do so rely on leaders of groups – movements – political parties – to do their talking for them. And yet we wonder why we’re all in the same mess we’ve been for years, centuries, and possibly even eons?

Think of one thing you want to see change in the world today and think about the last time you actually moved to try and change it. Have you sat back and complained about the issue instead of doing something about it?

Understand me: this article is not a guilt trip.

It’s not. Truly it’s not. It’s an effort to move whoever is reading it right now to stand up for something good in the world. We see wars, we see riots, we see starvation, we see orphans, we see abuse – and very few times do we say ‘I want to see this stop.’ Instead, everyone says ‘that’s the world we live in’. But is it? Does it have to be that way?

I want you to think of someone you really admire and ask yourself, did they accept the world we live in? What change could they really have made if they instead had cast a blind eye?

Consider this your call to action. I can even apply a shiny, plastic, and socially acceptable hashtag to it if you need it. Helping others should not be an instagrammed moment or something that you want to go viral. That’s vanity talking. I’m asking you to stand up because it’s the right thing to do. Can you do that? Can you?

#thinkaboutit

– Xo Maggie Lynn Heron-Heidel